Oct 31 (LT) Muslims who held a ‘Harthal’ campaign against the tiger organization at Mollopothan in Kanthale were attacked by the tiger organization. The vehicles used to transport the campaigners too were attacked. more..

Oct 31 (LT) Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar met President Chandrika Kumaratunga at President’s House last night to explain to her the course action the Norwegian government would take regarding the complaint the President made about the chief of SLMM Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Tryggve Tellefsen. more..

Oct 31 (DJ) Minister of Labor said Friday that an amended Termination of Employment Act will be in place by January. "We are in the process of drafting the proposal, and the revised legislation is likely to be implemented by January 2004," Mahinda Samarasinghe told a seminar. more..

Oct 31 (AFP) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe left here Friday for Britain en route to the United States for talks with President George W. Bush, officials said. Wickremesinghe is stopping in London and will meet with his wife who is studying there, officials said, more..

Oct 31 (DM) The body of the 55-year-old businessman, reported abducted along with his Pajero last Sunday at Bambalapitiya, was found in the Bolgoda Lake in Piliyandala on Monday morning. The body of Izmeth Jabeer had been recovered in a slightly decomposed state by the Piliyandala police, more..

Oct 31 (AFP) Tamil Tiger rebels have given Sri Lanka's government their first ever blueprint for power-sharing aimed at ending three decades of ethnic violence that has claimed over 60,000 lives, diplomats said. more..

Oct 31 (TN) Commending the organisers of the Sinhala-Tamil Arts Circle for organising the cultural interaction events in Colombo this week, the National Peace Council (NPC) in a media release issued in Colombo today condemned the "attitude of a section of the media who ran, and continue to run, stories claiming that the cultural interaction was an LTTE orchestrated one." more..

Oct 31 (JS) Up to 240 jobs are to be created in Sri Lanka after French lace manufacturer Noyon Dentelle De Calaise agreed a deal with major clothing producer MAS Holdings Ltd. The deal was overseen by the country's Board of Investment (BOI) and will see Noyon supply local clothing exporters. more..

Oct 31 (AP) Greedy scooter taxi drivers in southern Sri Lanka are laying nails on roads to disrupt cheaper bus service and are charging higher fare from commuters, a news report said Friday. Calling the scooter taxi drivers "three-wheeler mafia," the Island newspaper said that the drivers place nails on roads so that tires of buses are damaged and the vehicles remained non-operational. more..

Oct 31 (MC) Jet Airways and Air Sahara may be eager to start flights to Colombo but they may have to wait a while. The ministry of civil aviation will need cabinet approval to allow the two private domestic airlines to fly to Sri Lanka, reports CNBC-TV18. more..

Oct 31 (TN) The Norwegian ambassador in Sri Lanka, Mr. Hans Brattskar, Friday evening handed over the interim administrative structure proposals from the LTTE to the Constitutional Affairs Minister, Professor G.L.Peiris, at the latter's official residence in Colombo on his return from Kilinochchi more..

Oct 31 (ICN) A YOUNG man was hacked to death with an axe in a busy West Croydon street. Thirukumar Sothilingam, 28, suffered a series of blows to the back of his head when he and three friends were ambushed by an armed gang in London Road on Tuesday. more..

Oct 31 (TN) The Supreme Court Friday concluded its one-day inquiry into the application made by President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga, to determine whether the Executive President or the Defense Minister has the executive powers regarding the country's security, legal sources said. more..

Oct 31 (IPS) Slowly and steadily, Buddhists and Hindus in this island nation are forging new bonds as leaders of both religious communities face what they see as the threat posed by new Christian groups. more..